How To Navigate A Manufacturer Break-Up: Practical Guidance For Founders That Need To Move On

You're not alone, it happens. Sometimes it could be a professional misalignment. Maybe you no longer want your brand to be white label or, your manufacturer scales up and your MOQ is no longer hitting the target. What do you do?

secure your formulation

If you've decided you need something more out of your manufacturer, you'll first need to obtain your formulation/ Intellectual Property (IP). When formulating using a contract manufacturer, formulation ownership still belong to the facility. The information released should contain raw material(s) used by trade name, percentage at which they are used and a manufacturing method. This is the bit that seems to be always missing when I have receive formulations to produce in the past.

What if I have white label formulas

If you have white label formulations, you unfortunately will never be allowed to obtain these IP's. So you will instead engage a formulator (hey) to reverse engineer the formulation. We use the INCI and the product as a benchmark recreate the product. In honesty though, we will never be able to get 100% accuracy without a working formulation and method of manufacture.

Tips on selecting your new partner

When selecting you new facility there are a few things I recommend to consider as part of your decision making process.

Think logistics; MOQ's, Lead times, ability to distribute or drop ship

Quality assurance; Licencing and certifications, recall procedures, batch checks

Professional alignment; Clear, honest communication, or any other values you hold importance on.

are you ready to move on?

Having a clear plan on how you are going to approach this shift is going to be critical in ensuring the process is as hurdle free as possible. If you want tailored and practical advice to assist your transition, Let's Chat

-The Clinics Formulator